Jones as much as we already do. Today is saturday, october 4th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today, with lester holt and erica hill. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today on a saturday morning. Im lester holt. Im erica hill alongside dylan dreyer and Sheinelle Jones. Good morning. Welcome. That voice means it is official. How does the music feel . Its official. Im happy to be here. It is an honor to sit next you to guys. It is. Wait a half hour. You may feel differently. Awesome. First 15 seconds. We are always good at first impressions. Second and third. We will learn more about your journey here later. We want to move to the top story. The ebola emergency. In a moment, we will go live to dallas, texas for the latest on the high profile case there. We want to begin with the american journalist who tested positive in liberia while working with dr. Nancy snyderman and her news team. We will learn more about what he will deal with when he gets home. We get the latest from dr. Nancy. Reporter all week, we have been following protocols. Spraying our shoes with bleach and taking our temperature twice a day. Our cameraman, ashoka mukpo, was also taking precautions. Mukpo is a 33yearold photo journalist from rhode island who has been on assignment for the past few weeks working for news organizations. On tuesday, we hired him to work with us. On wednesday evening, he said he wasnt feeling well. A check showed his temperature was elevated. He quickly sought medical treatment. On thursday, a test showed he was positive for the ebola virus. He reached out to his parents. He texted me he said, dad, you need to answer the phone. I think im in trouble. I immediately knew. Reporter mukpo is under quarantine in the care of doctors without borders. He is in good spirits. He will be taken to the university of Nebraska Center for treatment. The Ebola Outbreak has made precautions here a way of life now. Officials are vigilant about taking temperatures. At the airport or even between towns. In hotels, guests are encourages to wash their hands in bleach. Greetings are done at a distance. No handshakes. No hugs. For health care workers, layers of protective equipment are required. It is a painstaking process. After visiting a local clinic here, we were brought into a room where carefully our protective suits, masks, gloves and googles are removed piece by piece. They were doused in bleach and incinerated. As far as we have seen, even a small break in the protective efforts can be an opportunity for the virus to spread. Our chief medical editor dr. Nancy snyderman. She and her team are okay. Questions about the first person diagnosed with ebola did not tell anyone. Now we have National Correspondent kate snow in dallas. Good morning. The District Attorney is now considering putting criminal charges against the patient himself for not telling anyone he had been exposed to ebola and potentially exposing his family and maybe others here in dallas. Duncans girlfriend and people quarantined in the apartment are living if a new home this morning, not because of health fears but, previous neighbors were scared to have them around. It has been tough because no one wanted them. So someone was kind enough to offer up a private residence that is gated. Reporter workers in hazmat suits spent friday cleaning the apartment. Bed sheets and towels and mattresses removed five days after duncan was rushed to the hospital. Local officials said this did not happen sooner because of the paper work nightmare dealing with ebola. We as a country dont have time to do this by trial and error. We need systems in a box for this that are ready to go. Reporter 50 people who came in contact with duncan are monitored by cdc teams. This doctor visits people on the list. The questions normally ask are you having a headache or fever. Is anyone under the weather. Reporter so far, no one answered yes. At a white house briefing, reassurances that the government can handle ebola. The United States has the most Capable Health care structure and best doctors in the world bar none. The United States is prepared to deal with this crisis. Reporter but some experts say what is happening in dallas show weaknesses in the system. It has ripped the covers off the assumptions about the readiness to deal with disaster. Reporter one of the biggest questions coming up is how did duncan come to the e. R. A week ago and get sent home the first time he came. The hospital yesterday had said there was a flaw in the computer system. That nurses put in the information that duncan had been recently in africa into their system, but nurses only could see it and not doctors could see that. This morning, the hospital is reversing itself saying there was no flaw. Everyone on the medical team could see he had been to africa in recent time. That only raises the question further, erica and lester, whether or how he was able to get sent home after appearing in the e. R. Kate snow this morning. Thanks. Dr. Foucie is the head of the allergy and infectious disease. Thank you for joining us. Good morning. The message is the u. S. Is prepared, but we hear in the report about the failure to diagnose this patient initially and slow response to cleaning up the apartment. Even the permits that had to be filled out just to dispose of this stuff. When you hear that, why shouldnt americans worry about preparedness . First of all, you have to separate the preparedness and glitches that were obvious to everyone. The questions americans are concerned about will there be an outbreak here. There will not be. There will not be because of the Health System and the Contact Tracing that you just showed on your piece now is the thing that prevents there being an outbreak. That has to be done correctly. Are you confident the procedures you laid out are now flowing freely . Yes, i think you want to separate a clear misstep in communication when the Patient First came from the Contact Tracing that we just saw the cdc person doing. Thats the thing that will contain an outbreak while we wont have it here. We may have another patient come through. Another ebola patient, but the people in the United States are asking the question, are we going to have an outbreak. What we have seen about the Contact Tracing prevents that. There is no excuse for the initial misstep. I think physicians in Emergency Rooms and clinics will be overly aware when someone comes in with symptoms compatible with ebola, you get travel history and you communicate that to the doctor. That obviously did not happen. You have people who were in contact with the people and are in quarantine. At one point, one tried to get out. You are basically counting on people doing the right thing. As this progresses and we see more cases, what power does the government have to enforce to tell someone you have to stay inside for 21 days. Someone who has a job and cannot take that time. The cdc does have the authority to impose forcible quarantine. When someone is contact traced, there are a couple of ways to effect that. You can get a broad contact at a low risk and have that person report on the daily basis, take their temperature and determine if their symptoms. If the cdc determines that is an unreliable person or the circumstances would not allow there to be strict adherence to that particular protocol, they have the ability to quarantine someone. I have to say the patient did not check the box he had been in contact with a sick person before leaving africa. It leads to the question, i think the impression is if you have ebola in africa, there is a chance you will die. If you come to the u. S. For treatment, you will live. That says a lot about our health care system, but are you worried about the message it sends. The difference with someone exposed and someone with symp m symptoms. If we went to the airport in monrovia and we have symptoms and we wanted to get to the United States, we would not be able to leave the country. At the airport, your temperature is taken and you are evaluated for symptoms and questioned about it. You saw the temperature gun they were pointing at nancy snyderman. That happens to everyone leaving the airport in those countries. Dr. Anthony foucie, we appreciate you and what you are doing. Thank you. We know you have concerns about ebola. Dr. , our contributor will be here to answer your questions. Send them to us on twitter orangeroom. The white house is strongly condemning a newly released video from isis that shows the murder of a british aid worker. The tape ends with the group threatening with another american hostage to be its next victim. Nbcs chief correspondent is Richard Engel in turkey. Good morning. Reporter good morning, erica. The fbi believes it knows the identity of the militant seen executing the hostages. They have not released his name, but they are absolutely looking for him. Isis seems to be reveling in brutality and promising more to come. Alan henning was a british taxi driver driving an ambulance into syria when he was kidnapped and then beheaded in a video experts say is genuine. This week, his wife pleaded for his life. Please release him. We need him back home. Reporter he is the fourth western hostage to be killed by what looks like the same man with the heavy british accent. There were two american journalists. James foley and Steven Sotloff and david haines. The militant threatened american peter kassig. A former soldier who started an aid group and went to syria to help victims of war. His war ends said he changed his name after converting to islam in captivity. In a statement, president obama condemned the murders of all of the hostages. Standing together with a Broad Coalition of allies and partners, he said we will continue to take Decisive Action to degrade and destroy isil. The british Prime Minister said his government will seek justice. We must do what we can to hunt down and find people responsible for this. Reporter the group known as isis is still killing and on the battle field despite two months of air strikes. An indication of the long road ahead, general allen, the American General responsible for the military mission in iraq and now against isis, said just to organize the mission against the city of mosul controlled by isis to take a year. Erica. Richard engel, thank you. We seven kreceive encouragi about the economy. We have Kristen Welker with more from the white house. Reporter lester, good morning. The numbers exceeded expectations. 248,000 jobs added last month. A clear indication the economy is getting stronger, but it is the timing of the report that is also so significant. It comes as president obama is trying to rebound from low Approval Ratings and his democrats are fighting to keep the senate. For an administration hit by one problem after the next, good news. The lowest Unemployment Rate in six years. The fact president obama tout friday at the manufacturing plant in indiana. We are on pace for the strongest job growth since the 1990s. Reporter it has been a rough year for the president. Criticized for foreign policy. The governments response to ebola and secret service under siege. Republicans fighting to pick up seats in the house and win back the senate in november, downplayed the news. In a statement, john boehner said every day i hear from people in my district who say no matter how hard they work, they still struggle to make ends meet. But democrats called it a clear victory. Still, they knowledge Many Americans are focused on issues. A lot of concern for ebola and isis. I think the economy, i think we have taken it for granted the economy is going to get better. Reporter analysts say the jobs report may not be enough for democrats in tough congressional races. Democrats can take comfort in the job numbers, but not a huge boost because republicans can repeat back what the president is saying. Average voters are not feeling it. Reporter the president may benefit as he hits the home stretch of his presidency if jobs keep coming back. His Approval Rating has stabilized because the public supports his response to isis. This can only help. Reporter for today, Kristen Welker, nbc news. Democrats are encouraging the president to talk about the economy and keep making the case that policies deserve the credit for rebound. The weakness in the positive news is the high number of longterm unemployed. Lester. Kristen, thanks very much. Sheinelle jones is here with a check of the morning top stories. How did that sound . Good. Lets get it started. Good morning. One of the nations most prestigious schools is on high alert. Harvard students received a disturbing threat prompting authorities to join forces on campus. Harvard police are stepping up patrols after a threatening email sent to 500 people. The author threatened to shoot up the campus this morning. Scary. We dont know. We dont know what tomorrow will bring. Those who received the threat say it was poorly written and racially charged. Some on campus are not worried. I dont have too much concern. Im sure the Harvard UniversityPolice Department will manage it. As for harvard police, they contacted the fbi. The university has sent emails to the Community Warning them of the threat. I think i appreciate how they handled the situation. They are taking a lot of precautions to make sure students are aware. Now hong kong where demonstrations in two shopping districts turned violent overnight. Police arrested 19 people in the clashes with prodemocracy demonstrators and opponents. 12 people and six officers were injured. Criminal gangs accused of inciting attacks on peaceful demonstrators. The senacdc claims the girl died a week ago did have enterovirus. It is unclear if the virus sickened hundreds of people across the country played a role in the death. Police in pennsylvania discovered food belonging to eric matthew frein. He seems to be surviving on tuna fish and ramen noodles. Check out this road rage incident. This is in south carolina. It was caught an ckacamera. The pickup truck driver is seen reaching into the car and punching the driver in the face. The assailant turned himself in and charged with disorderly conduct. A swedish woman has given birth after a womb transplant. The woman born without a uterus received a donated womb from a friend in his 60s. The boy was born prematurely weighing 4 pounds last month. The mother and baby are home doing well. Any way you do it, it is a miracle. One under your belt. Lets hope a million more. It is hard. You nailed it. She said you ready to get this over with . Now were good. Dylan, how is the weather . You want to see something terrib terrible . No. Disgusting . No, lets go back to sheinelle. It is snowing. Covering cars. 33 degrees. Rice lake, wisconsin. Its early october. The pumpkins are covered in snow and ice. Normal snowfall in the area happens in the beginning of november. We are a month ahead of schedule and hopefully this is not a taste of whats to come. Its too soon. Summer just ended. We got the area of low pressure. You see the rotation here. It is the cold front that is going to make a wet start in the northeast. You can see here is the front. We have scattered showers and storms in the eastern great lakes. Those move out of the midatlantic and up into new england today. It will be damp in new york city and pittsburgh this morning. It will be cloudy up across new england through sunday afternoon. We will see improvement. It is not a lot of rain, but clouds and spotty showers. Good indoor day. We are looking at a quarter inch of rain. Most of the rain is good morning. Im first alert meteorologist brittney ship. On and off showers throughout your morning hours. Throughout the afternoon, more clearing. Temperatures range between 68 and 71 degrees. Breezy conditions expected for us today. As we head into tomorrow, colder air is going to make its way in. It will be a cold start to the morning with temperatures dropping down to 47 degrees. Daytime highs tomorrow stay in the low 60s. Bring your jacket if you plan on tailgating. Heading into next week, back to the 70s. And thats your latest forecast. You were talking about the snow. Did you notice the ice at the rockefeller rink . What is going on . I looked out my window. Are you kidding me . It is that time. Coming up, it is it the owners fault when a dog attacks . The mans sentence after a woman taking a stroll is mauled by a dog. We w this is Sheinelle Jones first morning of the day. Al roker loves that song. I love it, too. Bangbang. We love that in the morning. A lot of folks showing a lot of love for you on line. No surprise there. I appreciate it. We knew that was coming. We will take you to a special place we have here at the today show. The hardest part is getting out of your chair. Where are we going . You are short like i am. This is the orange room. We have orange rugs and orange trash bags. Where do you find that . I have no idea. We connect with viewers on twitter and facebook. They are writing in about you. I want to say in the orange room, everyone is welcoming you to the today show. Lets look at the messages coming in on twitter. Congrats. Now i have a reason to get up early on the weekend. Still miss you in philly. You will get philly love. At least were together in this way. And also on twitter, congrats Sheinelle Jones. Welcome to my favorite morning show. Thats us. And Sheinelle Jones, today show. Super duper. Congratulatio congratulations to see you. Happy for you. Smiley face. Kiss. Heart. Everything you can imagine. We get crazy posts. The today show is welcoming you. Thank you, guys. Ill tweet you after the show. It will take you a while. Guys. Dylan, thanks. I am a slow tweeter. Just ahead, could it doom the future of Movie Theaters . Why Adam Sandlers latest deal wit